


When light is put away

by wendelah1



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Extras, Episode Tag, F/M, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-05 13:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10309694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendelah1/pseuds/wendelah1
Summary: She saved me. That's what matters. That she came back for me, that in the end, she stood by me.Missing scene for "Folie à Deux," this time from Mulder's POV.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vivien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vivien/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Accustomed to the Dark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10250702) by [wendelah1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendelah1/pseuds/wendelah1). 



> Thank you to idella for the beta.

[ ](http://s248.photobucket.com/user/her_new_day/media/2079436_sun-it-rises1_jfxeaqbh63vorhnrwcs4oomcjs2ptt7hevj74cagwi5qbj2htjuq_757x425_zpsx9okalrz.jpg.html)

"I have never met anyone so passionate and dedicated to a belief as you. It’s so intense that sometimes it’s blinding."  
~ Dana Scully, "E.B.E." 

 

The year Mulder turned five years old, he was admitted to Martha's Vineyard Hospital to have his tonsils removed. Like most hospitals at the time, the tiny facility had a draconian visiting policy. Visitors were permitted between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., with no exceptions made, not even for parents. That is, until Teena Mulder. When told by his nurse that visiting hours were over, Mulder's mother had simply refused to budge. "I promised Fox I would stay with him," was her reply each time someone came in to confront her. Each time she said it, Mulder had secretly wondered if his mother would be able keep her word. 

He needn't have worried. Teena stayed calm but resolute. Eventually, the hospital administrators gave in and left them alone. At midnight, Mulder woke up when the night shift nurse came into his room. His throat was sore and his head ached. After checking his temperature and pulse, Nurse Owen left, returning with a cup of chipped ice and a spoon. "It hurts him to swallow but Fox can let the ice melt in his mouth." She removed a pillow and a blanket from the cupboard and handed them to Teena. "Call me if Fox needs anything." 

"Thank you. I will," Teena said. She spooned a bit of ice into his mouth, and stroked his head until he fell back asleep. 

Ever since, Mulder had harbored ambivalent feelings toward nurses and the institutions which employed them. It really was unfortunate that his chosen profession was so hazardous to his health. Over the years, he'd had some okay experiences and some that were...not so great. 

But the nurse at Calumet Mercy Hospital, where he was brought after thwarting Pincus's attack on Skinner, was in a category all her own. This was an angel of death, not mercy. The nurse and her orderlies had tied him down like a crazed animal; once they had him restrained, she'd jabbed him with a needle so large he'd still have a bruise a week later—and smiled while she was doing it. She had done her best to terrify him, even before Pincus had gotten to her. 

"Don't let the bedbugs bite," was a questionable thing for a nurse to say to a patient who thought he was being stalked by a gigantic insect. This nurse insisted on opening the window, despite Mulder telling her that Pincus was hovering right outside. "You just need some air." By that point, Mulder's heart was racing so fast he was sure he was having a heart attack. Her last crack at him was the worst yet. "I can't be running in here all night," she said before leaving him at the mercy of Pincus. He guessed she'd missed the memo instructing staff that psychiatric patients in restraints must be checked every fifteen minutes and protected from harm. 

When Pincus appeared again at his window, Mulder cried out in terror. Even knowing that no one would answer his cries for help, he couldn't stop himself. He screamed again and again as the monster reared up to attack. He was all but certain he was done for when Scully burst through the door, running in heels, weapon in hand. Though her shots missed their mark, Pincus beat a hasty retreat, crashing through the window glass.

"You saw it. You saw the monster," Mulder marveled, as she began releasing his restraints.

"We'll talk about that later," she said. "Mulder, in about two seconds, armed security guards will be here, followed shortly by the police." She made quick work of the left wrist restraint as well as the ones holding his ankles, but his right wrist remained attached to the bed-rail. "Damn it. This should be a quick-release knot!" Frustrated, Scully grabbed a pair of enormous shears from he knew not where, and cut the offending strap in two. 

Mulder stood by the side of the bed, rubbing his wrists and stamping his feet to get the circulation moving. Scully strode to the closet, yanked open the door, and pulled out the two plastic bags that held his clothing. He watched Scully rummage through the contents. Satisfied, she handed over the bags. She winced at the bruises on his arms. "I suggest you get dressed," she said, unnecessarily. Did she think he planned to walk out wearing just his shorts? 

While Mulder stepped into his trousers, she walked over to the window and peered out through the shattered glass. "There's no sign of it—him—anywhere." 

Mulder nodded. Whatever he was, man or monster, Pincus moved fast. He pulled a T-shirt over his head. 

"This time—" Her voice was firm. "—I'm not leaving here without you." 

Mulder wanted to hug her. He didn't. The anti-psychotic the nurse had injected him with must have kicked in because his mouth was dry and he was feeling dizzy. He sat back down on the bed. 

Scully rushed to his side and put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "You're going to be fine, Mulder, once the drugs are out of your system." He nodded and swayed. _Drugs?_ Was she suggesting they'd given him more than one? Damn. It was all he could do to tie his shoes without falling onto the floor. 

~/~/~

Mulder was amazed by what a determined woman with a badge, a gun, and an M.D. after her name could accomplish. Scully had him released into her custody within the hour. She gave a concise statement to the officers, and stood close by, arms crossed and face impassive, while they interviewed Mulder. Finally, she instructed the agents from the local field office to contact her immediately if they located Pincus. She wanted to be there to question him herself. 

By four o'clock in the morning, she had booked two tickets on the next flight to Washington and called them a cab. By six, they were in the air. She'd pushed hard for the upgrade to business class. Mulder was happy for the extra leg room and took the window seat as instructed. Scully probably appreciated not having to sit wedged in between him and another passenger. 

At cruising altitude, after the pilot made his announcements, Scully turned to Mulder. Putting her hand over his, she said, "It's a short flight but maybe you could get some sleep?"

Mulder doubted that. "I want to talk about Pincus," he said, stifling a yawn. 

Scully pulled away her hand. Mulder thought about grabbing it back but decided he'd better not push his luck. She clasped her hands together and placed them in her lap. "Fine." She did not sound fine, but damn it, he needed to know.

"Please tell me you could see what Pincus really is." The story she'd given to the police had not included a full description of his attacker. He, on the other hand, had told the investigating officers everything he could remember. Law enforcement had to know what Pincus was capable of, if they were to protect themselves.

Scully sighed. "I don't know what I saw, Mulder. Your room was dark, and..."

"Is that what you're going to tell Skinner? That you fired your weapon into the air at an assailant you didn't actually see?" Scully said nothing in reply. She sat, unmoving, staring ahead at the back of the seat in front of her. She saved me, he reminded himself. That's what matters. That she came back for me, and that in the end, she stood by me. _Shit._ "I'm sorry. That was out of line."

"The evidence was there, Mulder, just the way you said it would be." 

Mulder went still. There was regret in her voice, perhaps even guilt. Why? Skinner had been the one who'd had him locked up.

"You were right. There were puncture marks on the victim's back near the base of his neck. They're either injection sites or bite marks—I'm not certain which. I didn't finish the autopsy. I...I wanted to get back to you as quickly as I could. I did send a tox screen. I hope the results will be back by the time I have to meet with Skinner."

"So I'm not crazy." Mulder sank back in his seat.

"No. You were on the right track. You just—got carried away. I would argue that you weren't ready for this assignment. That it was too soon after your run-in with the New Spartans for you to be back in the field."

Maybe she had a point. Maybe believing he'd been about to be executed by August Bremer had spooked him more than he'd been willing to admit, even to himself. He hadn't told Scully the whole story. Maybe it was time he did. 

Unfortunately, that conversation would have to wait. The strain of the past few days was catching up to him. Every muscle in his body ached. His broken pinkie still hurt. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, he could hardly keep his eyes open. Scully was right: he needed sleep. He folded the airliner's pitiful excuse for a pillow in half, and stuck it under his head. "Wake me when we land," he said, fumbling for the button to adjust his seat back. 

Scully reached over him and pulled down the window shade. As his eyes closed, he could feel her hand caress his shoulder. "Of course, Mulder," she said softly. "I will."

**Author's Note:**

> The photograph is a still from the fifth episode of the documentary, "Cosmos," entitled "Hiding in the Light." The title is from [a poem by Emily Dickinson](https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/we-grow-accustomed-to-the-dark/).
> 
> The first section was inspired by this quote: "On the day my parents divorced, my mother vowed never to set foot in the summer house again, I know my mother, she kept her word."  
> ~ Fox Mulder, "Talitha Cumi"


End file.
